Warning issued on sex assaults, robberies

Updated 11:05 pm, Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Five women have been sexually assaulted, robbed or both in an area of the North Side in recent weeks, and San Antonio police are investigating whether the crimes might be related.

“We're not ready to say it's one person doing this right now,” Chief William McManus said Wednesday. “But we're not ruling out that possibility.”

The attacks — four of which were both aggravated robbery and sexual assaults and one that was only aggravated robbery — have occurred between 2 and 7 a.m. along the Interstate 10 corridor, north of Loop 410 and south of Huebner Road.

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Four of the incidents occurred on the west side of the I-10 corridor and one on the east side.

The first occurred Sept. 1, and the most recent on Oct. 17. In each incident the man displayed a black handgun, and he threatened to kill the women if they didn't hand over purses, phones, or, in four cases, agree to perform sexual acts on him, according to police reports.

“Because of the time and proximity of these offenses, we just want to make sure that everyone, especially women, are aware and are taking precautions,” McManus said.

The suspect has been described as a white or Hispanic male, between 18 and 30 years old and 5 feet 8 to 6 feet tall.

In at least two of the assaults, police used a helicopter to try to find the suspect without luck.

On Sept. 1, a woman was walking alone at night, talking on the phone with her boyfriend, when, according to a police report, a man approached her, showed her the handgun and then threw her on the ground by the neck before assaulting her and running off.

Two of the assaults involved women sitting in cars in parking lots.

In another, a woman was pushed inside her apartment and robbed, but refused the man's sexual advances, and he eventually left.

“Because of the dual nature of these offenses, we have several units within the department working together to solve this,” McManus said.

Police also suggest these tips for keeping safe:

Avoid walking alone or in areas that are not well-lit.

If you're walking through a parking lot and feel uneasy, trust your instincts and turn around.

Approach your car with keys in hand, lock the doors immediately and leave the area.